A Template for Predictability Definitions with Supporting Evidence

Abstract

In real-time systems, timing behavior is as important as functional behavior. Modern architectures turn verification of timing aspects into a nightmare, due to their "unpredictability". Recently, various efforts have been undertaken to engineer more predictable architectures. Such efforts should be based on a clear understanding of predictability. We discuss key aspects of and propose a template for predictability definitions. To investigate the utility of our proposal, we examine above efforts and try to cast them as instances of our template.